1. Tons Of Fun
England's failure to convert good starts proved the difference between a very good first-innings score and an excellent one. Australia have not made the same mistake. All three batsmen got in: two have gone on to three figures. And that's why they're now in control of this match. While there remains plenty of work to do - Australia will hope not to bat for any significant length of time on day five to secure draw or victory - Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich look in the mood to do as much of it as possible on their own.

2. Punter Perfect
What was all that utter guff about Ponting being out of form? He looked as majestic as ever, cover-driving and swivel-pulling his way first to 11,000 Test runs, then a half-century and finally, moments before the close, another Ashes century (his eighth). He's only the fourth man in the 11k Club, and has a better average than the three men ahead of him. Whatever debates may rage about the quality of his captaincy, he remains one of those batsmen - like Lara and Tendulkar - who leaves you with divided loyalties when they're in the opposition team: you want them to get out every ball, but you love watching them bat. I can only remember one loose shot today - a sliced attempt at a cover drive that flew through gully to take him past 50. It was as near to a faultless innings as you'll see.

3. Memories...
Swashbuckling tail-end hitting and a menacing spell from Andrew Flintoff that brought a key wicket and got the home crowd jumping. The 2005 memories came flooding back, but it wasn't to last for England. The Ponting-Katich alliance is already bigger than any Australia managed in that series, while rarely in that glorious summer did England's attack look so toothless as it did today. The total absence of swing is a huge concern for England, while both spinners were disappointing. Graeme Swann in particular overpitched with maddening frequency.

4. Cool For Kat
There were some 2005 demons laid to rest here as Katich battled and scrapped his way to a century. But there were plenty of good shots as well, and his determination to play straighter is an obvious and significant improvement on the struggling middle-order batsman of four years ago. Unlike Ponting he needed a stroke of luck, when Flintoff failed to hold on to a tricky caught-and-bowled chance, but he certainly made the most of the small good fortune that came his way.

5. Keep It Clean
Much has been made of the relative merits of the two keepers on show in this series, with the consensus being that neither is much cop with the gloves. So far, so good though. Both men have taken excellent catches at crucial moments and been without blemish behind the stumps.

Dave Tickner